Our world is saturated with data. Now more than ever, businesses need to be able to organize and harness the vast quantities of information generated by their day-to-day operations. K201 is designed to provide an introduction to two of the most widespread technologies for dealing with data - spreadsheets and relational databases (SQL).
Just about everyone has used a spreadsheet at some point. Not many people are aware of some of the more advanced features of modern spreadsheet applications, like lookups and pivot tables. These powerful capabilities can be tricky to use. The good news is, once you learn them, they can easily become second nature.
The lab component covers the technical side of K201, and teaches you advanced usage of Microsoft Access and Excel. This component is worth the majority of your grade points, and is usually considered the hardest part of the class.
The K201 lecture component (sometimes called K201xP) is a general overview of the role of information technology (IT) in business. It consists of weekly lectures. You will be tested on the content of these lectures in two multiple-choice exams. Together, the lecture exams are the second largest portion of your grade.
Throughout the semester you will also work on team assignments that center around an actual business, culminating in a course-wide competition at the end of the semester. The business sponsor judges the top three teams, who will receive bragging rights and a small amount of extra credit.
GPs are technical assignments that require you to manipulate, calculate, and present data in very specific ways using the features and functions of Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel. If you have ever taken a computer science class, they are similar to programming projects in terms of how rigorously they are evaluated and graded.
There are 9 graded projects in total - 4 that cover topics in Access, and 5 for topics in Excel. It is very important that you use the GPs to thoroughly master the lab material and prepare for the practical exams.
The practical exams are comprehensive, 90-minute tests on the technical skills that you learned during the GPs. The first practical exam tests your abilities in Microsoft Access, while the second practical covers Microsoft Excel.
Together, the two practical exams make up more than half of your grade points for the course!
Our blog contains video walkthroughs and written guides for the graded projects (GPs), thoroughly explained by our expert K201 tutors.
